Kirsty Costa’s connection to nature and wildlife was nurtured by a childhood of camping trips, bushwalks and ocean swims.
She has spent more than 20 years working in education and sustainability. Kirsty has been a classroom teacher, an education consultant for hundreds of schools and worked at an executive level in large not-for-profits.
As Learning Innovation Leader at Zoos Victoria, she designs education programs that help teachers, young people and wildlife to thrive in our changing world.
What is your role at Zoos Victoria?
As Learning Innovation Leader, I collaborate with the education teams at Victoria’s three great zoos – Healesville Sanctuary, Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo. We find new and authentic ways to provide students with real-world learning experiences. As a zoo-based conservation organisation, Zoos Victoria also delivers programs that involve young people in action for wildlife. Another part of my role is to help coordinate professional development programs that support Zoos Victoria’s 4000-plus teacher members to grow their confidence and skills.
How is STEM and science communication applied at Zoos Victoria?
With thousands of animals, hundreds of staff and millions of visitors, each zoo is a STEM playground. Science communication happens at every level, from our website to our signage, to our keeper talks. Underlying our communication is a behaviour change and education model called Connect-Understand-Act. We emotionally connect people to animals and nature in order to foster wildlife friendly attitudes and values. We help people understand animals and conservation in order to create wildlife-friendly beliefs. We inspire people to act in their everyday life through wildlife friendly behaviours.
Have you always strived to involve STEM in your career?
Interestingly, I gave up science in Year 10 at high school. I didn’t enjoy learning from a textbook and I didn’t like activities where I had to guess the right answer. However, I grew up loving the natural world and also technology. That being said, STEM has always been part of my career, from working in community development to my roles in education. I’ve had the privilege of teaching STEM to people of all ages, focusing particularly on the human ingenuity used to solve environmental and social problems.
Why is communicating your science to a wider audience important?
Zoos Victoria’s vision is to fight extinction and secure a future rich in wildlife. Science communication allows us to build partnerships with local communities, fellow conservationists and like-minded organisations — close to home and in far-flung corners of the world. Communication also enables us to provide profound zoo-based animal encounters to connect people with wildlife. Communicating our science to a wider audience gives animal species hope of survival.
Are you communicating to people with a science background? If not, what considerations do you have to make?
Zoos Victoria communicates with people from a variety of groups, cultures and backgrounds. They have a range of science knowledge and skills so we need to tailor our communications accordingly. We communicate through our education programs, through media, our social media channels and directly to those who visit our properties – Melbourne Zoo, Werribee Open Range Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary. Our Community Conservation campaigns are designed to be accessible to everyone and encourage individuals, schools, workplaces and communities to take simple actions that can have real and positive effects and a big impact on the fight against extinction. These campaigns are designed to empower people to save wildlife, regardless of their background.
What's important when explaining something complicated to a young audience?
We use a series of techniques to educate young people about complicated topics. First, we explore ‘the why’ and link the topic to what young people already know or have experienced. Next, we break ‘the what’ into bite-sized pieces so the information can be easily digested. This can include images, stories, data and infographics. We then discuss ‘the how’ so that young people understand the skills and steps used in real-life scenarios. Finally, we give time for young people to think about how they might use what they’ve learnt by asking, “what if”. You could argue that this same technique should be used for adults too!
What is your favourite part about working at Zoos Victoria?
There are so many things I love about working at Zoos Victoria. From the committed staff, to the amazing animals, to our collective purpose. My favourite part of my work is that I get to mash my passions together – education and conservation. I’m part of a team that provides young people with an education worth having, while also helping our community achieve positive outcomes for wildlife. It’s incredibly rewarding.
What are your tips for standing out, engaging an audience and being an expert science communicator?
An audience won’t engage with a message if they sense that the communicator’s goal is personal gain. The best communicators are authentic and they genuinely want to know what their audience thinks and needs. They listen as much (or even more) than they talk. This is our approach at Zoos Victoria – we spend endless hours listening to our visitors, members, partners and the wider community. We have conversations with them (instead of talking at them) and this conversation allows us to communicate in a way where everyone feels heard and valued. This builds a trust relationship where science can be communicated and people inspired to take action for wildlife.
